CHAPTER 58: CHAPTER 58: NICE UNCLE_1

The next day, at seven o’clock in the morning, the alarm clock went off on time.

Lu Yuan got up a little later than usual today.

When he got up to get dressed, he suddenly felt his clothes were a bit tight. At first, he thought he had put his plain white T-shirt on backward.

However, after looking in the mirror, he discovered it was because he had become ’buff’.

Just 1 point of strength and I’ve already gone up a size.

Lu Yuan looked at his arm in the mirror, which was noticeably thicker than two days ago.

His chest muscles had also bulged quite a bit.

Even without flexing, the contours of the muscles on his body were extremely clear.

Lu Yuan tried to reach the back of his left shoulder with his right hand, but it felt a bit difficult.

He had no choice but to accept the fact: he had definitely become a bit ’bloated’.

Is this the result of just focusing on strength without increasing the other three attributes?

Lu Yuan didn’t want to become a muscle monster. He felt it was time to focus his Martial Arts training on the Crane-shaped Pile.

Because the Crane-shaped Pile was for enhancing agility.

The agility increase was very helpful in controlling his body shape. He had previously used agility to prevent his muscles from ballooning after several strength increases.

He found his largest, loosest T-shirt, put it on, and then added a sports jacket over it.

Only then did Lu Yuan leave the house and go downstairs.

It was probably because he had been up so late yesterday, and his mother was entirely focused on whether he had been in a fight or gotten injured, that she hadn’t noticed the slight change in his physique.

If Mom doesn’t notice, Lin Zhiquin definitely will. I better avoid going to Mosa for a couple of days,

Lu Yuan thought to himself as he went downstairs.

The Profession Panel was his biggest secret.

He could cover up his fast progress in Martial Arts with talent, but he had no explanation for the sudden change in his physique.

If he ran into a Martial Arts expert like Lin Zhiquin, he would be immediately found out.

Just after seven, Lu Yuan wasn’t planning on going for morning practice.

Seeing his mom opening up the shop and moving things around, he went over to help.

A short while later, the breakfast shop across the street delivered a large bag of steamed buns, fried dough sticks, and siu mai.

It was something his mom had bought.

Lu Yuan didn’t like the breakfast made by the shop across the street because it was unappetizing.

Usually, he would go out of his way to buy from elsewhere. Today, though, he had no choice but to make do with it.

"Mom, where’s Dad?"

Lu Yuan grabbed a small stool and sat at the shop’s entrance, gnawing on a steamed bun. It had plenty of meat filling, but it didn’t taste very fresh and was incredibly salty.

His mom, Zheng Qiuling, was counting the goods with a small notebook and casually answered, "He went to the hospital. Your grandfather is being discharged today. Remember to come back for lunch."

"How did you know I was planning to go out?"

"When have you ever stayed home?"

Zheng Qiuling gave him a displeased look, seemingly still bothered about him "falling into the drain" last night.

Lu Yuan hurriedly shut up, quickly finished off ten meat buns, and downed two bottles of pure milk.

After greeting his mother, he left.

Lu Yuan took a detour through two streets today, walking to the place where he encountered the rat man yesterday.

The alley where the fight took place was now cordoned off with yellow caution tape. A crowd of curious onlookers, mostly elderly men and women, had gathered around the entrance, with two police officers maintaining order.

Lu Yuan walked by without changing his expression.

He saw a woman in her thirties, wearing lipstick, interrogating one of the officers. "...Are you going to compensate me? The plaster on my shop walls is shattered all over the floor! How am I supposed to do business now?!"

She seemed to be the owner of the clothing store next door.

Last night, Lu Yuan’s fight with the rat man had been like a demolition crew, damaging the outer walls of the shops on both sides of the alley.

In addition to the clothing store, there was also a nail salon, but it wasn’t open yet. The owner probably didn’t know what had happened here.

"TSK TSK TSK..."

Lu Yuan heard an old man with a vegetable basket sighing continuously beside him. He couldn’t help but ask, "Sir, do you know what happened here?"

The old man carrying the vegetable basket gave him a sidelong glance, replying, "What happened? Someone died."

"Huh?"

A look of shock crossed Lu Yuan’s face. "How did they die? Who died?"

"Who knows? They won’t let anyone in to see. Some people say a rat bit a woman to death... If you ask me, that’s pure nonsense."

The old man waved his hand, muttered, "Nothing good to see. I’m going to buy groceries," and turned to leave.

Lu Yuan followed the crowd and peeked into the alley, deliberately edging forward.

The two police officers guarding the scene didn’t recognize him, assuming he was just a passer-by watching the excitement, and shooed him away.

Lu Yuan, somewhat reassured, glanced towards a manhole cover on the street not far away.

The manhole cover that was lifted last night was now secured back in place.

He guessed that this case would likely be reported by the police as a normal murder. I wonder if it has anything to do with the missing persons case from two months ago?

Lu Yuan contemplated as he walked away.

He felt that there was not much connection. Though the rat man was not lacking in intelligence, it didn’t seem capable of abducting dozens of people without leaving a single trace.

The large-scale missing persons case in Burnt Rock City had even prompted the authorities to send special investigators and the Magnetic Suspended Shuttle.

The rat man was powerful, but not enough to warrant such attention.

Unless it has... even more formidable accomplices, or even an organization, behind it.

Lu Yuan thought of the members of the Cult gang that were arrested.

Without delay, he hailed a taxi and headed for the city police station.

「Twenty minutes later.」

At the entrance of the police station, Lu Yuan got out of the taxi.

As he exited the car, Lu Yuan’s expression subtly froze.

It was currently 8:05 in the morning, which should have been the peak of the morning rush, with people heading to work.

However, at the entrance to the police station, many people were either standing or sitting.

Most of these people looked haggard. They carried water and food with them; some had even spread out mats on the ground, along with blankets and other items.

In their hands or scattered at their feet were red banners.

As soon as someone in a police uniform stepped outside, they would instantly swarm towards them.

"...Please solve the case soon, city police! Give us back our loved ones!"

"Clues! We want clues!"

"We hope the city police will take this seriously!"

Some people, shouting these slogans, couldn’t help but secretly wipe away their tears, reminding Lu Yuan of the crying woman he had once seen at the entrance of Origin Martial Arts Hall, pestering Lin Zhiquin with her red electric bike.

Lu Yuan quietly walked through the crowd.

Walking through the crowd, Lu Yuan realized the missing persons case was far more serious than the mere numbers reported on TV and in the news suggested. Up close, the gravity of the situation far exceeded what he had previously understood.

Walking into the reporting hall, the people inside were all hurrying around.

Lu Yuan didn’t bother anyone, walking over to the notice board near the entrance.

He tried to find the name of the criminal investigation captain who had led the team last night on the notice board.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t even know who to ask for.

"This month’s outstanding individuals..."

Lu Yuan was methodically scanning the photos from top to bottom, one by one.

Just as he was searching, someone suddenly called out to him from behind.

"What brings you here?"

Lu Yuan turned around. A middle-aged man in a police uniform was looking at him in surprise. It was the very criminal investigation captain he was looking for, the one who had led the team the previous night.

Lu Yuan, slightly delighted, immediately greeted the man. "Hello, Captain Uncle," he said politely.

The man was over 1.8 meters tall, with solid muscles that bulged slightly even under his jacket.

Recalling the scene from the surveillance video last night, Lu Yuan’s use of "Uncle" made the middle-aged man’s mouth twitch slightly.